Pieces
by EllielBones
Summary: She didn't mean to have feelings for him. He was off limits. She had made her choices and now hoped it would all work out. Eric/Oc story, will have spoilers for the first two books at least and possibly the third one. Rating is M at the moment for cursing and scenes later on.
1. Chapter 1: Pieces

**Disclaimer: The Divergent trilogy and all unoriginal characters belong to Veronica Roth**

**Chapter 1**

In and out, breath in and out I tell myself as I watch the city pass by. The wind whips through my hair from where I sit in the train car. I should be excited. I should be ecstatic that in a day I will be told where I truly belong. The thing is I have a pretty good idea of where I will be letting my blood spill at the choosing ceremony. I'll stay where I've grown up, where I am happy. I will remain at Dauntless. I haven't taken the aptitude test yet but still I know that no matter the results I will not leave. It isn't because I'm afraid to leave. I have nothing holding me back and everything to leave for but deep down I know I belong where I am. I know he won't feel the same. He'll want me to leave for him. There in lies my problem. The reason I have to breathe deeply to steady my racing heart. I close my eyes and try not to think of the impending doom of my relationship.

I hear him sit down beside me before I see him. The light rustling of his clothes giving him away. I open my eyes and glance over at my friend Nic whose looking at me with a small bit of concern in his eyes.

"You alright there Evee?" he asked, as he leans forward, resting his arms on the top of his knees.

"I'm fine." I say, looking away from his light hazel gaze and chewing nervously on my lower lip.

"Damn, lets hope you don't get Candor tomorrow because you can't lie for shit, Miss Eveline Lively" he says laughing. I punch him lightly in the arm, both for using my full name and for insulting me, then smile at him, his banter lightening my mood. Sadly though he isn't ready to drop it as he continues to stare at me with an expectant look on his face.

With a sigh I finally give in, "Its about Steve."

Nic looks a bit confused at first but then seems to understand, "Hey, you're working yourself up for nothing. You haven't even taken the aptitude test yet. Maybe you'll get Erudite and you two will live happily ever after." I give him an incredulous look and he rubs his hand on the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah I know, wistful thinking," he says with a sad smile.

I could see myself doing well in Erudite. I was smarter than many of my fellow Dauntless classmates, earning me quite a bit of teasing when I was younger. It stopped quickly though with quite a few broken noses where my tormentors where concerned. Needless to say I proved myself. I'm not exactly the picture of a dauntless teen though. I never got into dying my hair, perfectly happy with my brownish-blonde locks; I only had my ears pierced and one cartilage piercing. I was short, standing just over 5'3 but puberty had done me the kindness of giving me curves and a "nice ass" as many of the boys in my class liked to point out. My chest was a modest but respectable size. I wasn't model beautiful but my features worked for me, a small nose and full lips but my eyes where by far the most stunning, a cool grey blue with a small almost unnoticeable ring of green starburst around the pupil. I was beautiful in the cute girl next door way.

"Yeah wistful thinking," I say sadly. "I mean think about it Nic, you've known me your whole life. Do you honestly think I belong anywhere but dauntless?" I say returning my gaze back out of the train and laying my chin on the top of my knees. Nic pats my shoulder comfortingly and we ride in silence till the train begins to slow down. We stand up as the train approaches the Hub. Nic locks elbows with me, gives me a goofy grin then on a silent count of three we jump together rolling through grass laughing as we land. I stand up and brush off my dark jeans. I glance to my right to see the familiar Erudite blue of Steve's blazer as he begins heading towards me. I feel a small prick of anxiety before I shove it down and give him a smile. As he reaches me I stand on my tiptoes and give him a small peck on the lips.

"Hey you," He says giving me a dazzling smile. I smile back but feel a small sadness in my gut. I'm going to miss him. His light brown hair is styled to look as if he'd just woken up. His green eyes look at me warmly and shine with love. He's boyishly handsome with a slight chub in his cheeks that disappears day by day as he grows. He's a bit of goof ball and a nerd. Completely suited for the faction he was born in.

"Hey," I say returning his smile. We begin to walk towards the school building our arms brushing lightly against each other.

"So you excited for tomorrow," he asks as he holds the door open for me.

"Oh absolutely," I lie easily. Nic was right, I wouldn't do well in Candor at all.

"Which faction do you think you'll get," He asks with a laugh as we stop by the door of my first class.

"Hmmm," I say pretending to think. "Who can say? I guess we'll just have to wait till tomorrow and see." I give him a wink before heading into my class. As soon as I turn my back I let my face fall a bit. Although I honestly don't know which aptitude I will get tomorrow, I can make a pretty accurate guess. I can already imagine the look on Steve's face when I tell him I won't be following him to Erudite. He'll be devastated. It's not to say I won't be sad as well but I've known for a bit that I would be staying in Dauntless. I've pretty much come to grips with the fact that we won't be together after the choosing ceremony.

The rest of the day went by in a flash. A quick lunch in the middle of the day in which everyone babbles about the aptitude test and makes guesses as to what everyone will get. I try to be quiet through out the whole conversation though a few of the friends Steve and I sit with at lunch kept arguing back and forth between whether I'd be Erudite or Dauntless. I made no comment and immediately steered the conversation towards another one of our classmates. The last half of the day went by uneventfully.

Steve stands by me as I wait for the train. After class he and I had made our way to a small abandoned apartment complex two blocks from the Erudite compound to spend sometime alone before he needed to be home for dinner. Our conversations had been light, a silent agreement to not bring up the test. I stand facing the tracks with him behind me, arms wrapped around my waist. As I stand there I think of how I will miss the small moments like this but some part of me is in a way relieved. He's my first and only boyfriend yet I am ashamed to admit that I am excited to have the opportunity to find a new love. Steve feels like my old life, a life before initiation. When initiation starts I want a clean slate. I feel guilty standing there allowing him to hold me but I too am enjoying these last moments we have.

As I hear the rattle of the train approaching I turn and give him a quick kiss goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I say with a smile.

"Tomorrow," he says returning my grin.

I turn just in time to see figure hop off of the train, landing effortlessly on his feet. My brow furrows slightly as I see Eric, one of the five dauntless leaders make his way towards the Erudite compound, his shaved head and Mohawk disappearing as he gets farther away. I wonder what sort of business he could possibly have this late there. I quickly decide that it's none of my business as I begin to run along side the train. I grab the handle and pull myself in. I lean out the side and wave goodbye to Steve before sitting down and watching the city pass by as the sunsets.

I awake with a start as the train hits a curve and throws me to the left. I quickly splay out my hands to catch myself before I fall over. I let out a sigh, that's one way to be woken up. Standing up and making my way to the cart door I look out to see how far I am from the Compound. I realize with a start that the train is past the Compound and headed back towards the city, hence the large curve. Great just great, now I'm going to be home even later. In a way I guess it's lucky that I basically live alone. My dad will be off at the bar drinking himself to death before he makes he way back to the apartment of whichever woman he's currently sleeping with. I guess I should feel bad for not knowing the name of this month's flavor but with my dad's track record she'll be gone by this time next week.

After a moment I resolve myself to sit back down and wait till the train rolls back around to the Dauntless Compound. Thirty minutes later the train slows down as it begins to pass the Erudite Compound. I watch it roll by and for a moment imagine myself in Erudite. I'm so lost in my thoughts that I almost miss the black blur that throws themselves into the train. As the figure straightens up I realize that it's Eric. Whatever business he had at Erudite must have concluded.

Its not five seconds after I came to the conclusion it was Eric who had boarded the train that I realize it's past curfew for all dependents and he happens to be a Dauntless leader. I wish I could say that I looked older than I actually was but sadly I was given a youthful face. There's no way he won't notice me either, the lighting may be dim in the trains but he'd have to be legally blind not to notice me.

As if on cue Eric turns around and immediately his eyes find mine. He raises an eyebrow, the two piercings above it moving as he does. His mohawk moves slightly with the wind as his steely blue eyes bore into mine.

"Hey," I say weakly, waving slightly with a sheepish smile.

"Hey?" he questions, he deep voice rumbling as he crosses his hands over his chest, the muscles in his arms bulging a bit with the movement. "You do realize what time it is, right?"

I almost nod and avert my gaze but decide against it. I am Dauntless after all but as we've been told many times with reference to the chasm, there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity. I was straddling that line at the moment. Looking up and meeting his eyes I boldly say, "I would guess its 10:30 as the train should be back at the Compound at 11:00 and the Erudite Compound is only thirty minutes away from home."

Eric is silent. His eyes not leaving mine. I can't read his expression but knowing Eric he's probably planning some sadistic punishment for me the moment we get back. After what seems like an eternity his shoulders loosen a bit and he chuckles lightly. I am completely shocked by his reaction. I expected anger, or some remark about how bad my punishment would be.

"Well I'll say this you got guts," he says with a laugh. "How old are you anyway, clearly you're still a dependent."

I can't help but bristle slightly at his comment. I know I look young but it doesn't mean I like people pointing it out. "I'm sixteen," I say stiffly.

"Easy now," he says putting his hands up in a mock surrender. "Didn't mean to poke a sore spot." The smirk on his face says he's not sorry about it though.

I just huff and cross my arms over my chest. We ride in silence for awhile until I finally say "Well get on with it."

"With what?" he asks seemingly confused.

"Oh please, get on with telling me about whatever punishment you've thought up." I say, glaring at him. I get the feeling I may be leaning a bit more to the stupidity side of the line with my tone but I can feel the stress of the test tomorrow getting to me.

"I'm sure your parents will have punishment enough planned out for you," he says leaning up against the back wall of the cart.

I can't help it, I laugh, albeit a bit bitterly but laugh nonetheless. If only he knew how untrue that statement was. I wasn't about to tell him though, seeing an opportunity to get out of punishment.

"Is there a reason that's funny?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

At first I don't respond but then with a sigh I say, "Honestly not really, thing is papa Lively isn't really one for punishment."

"You're Joseph Lively's daughter?" Eric says with surprise.

"Yes, how do you know my dad?" I say my brow furrowing in confusion. It's odd enough that Eric isn't punishing me but somehow he knows who my father is? This train ride just got even weirder.

Eric opens his mouth to answer me but before he can the train begins to slow down. I jump up, not wanting to miss my stop the second time around. Eric jumps out before me landing pretty gracefully. I jump right after him and despite doing this my whole life I end up stumbling a bit, this time a bit more than usual. I feel myself falling over and immediately put my hands out to catch myself but end up falling smack into Eric's chest. My hands are splayed out on his shirt and his hands holding me steady on either side of my waist. I look up and catch his gaze, his steely eyes unreadable. I immediately feel heat surging up along the back of my neck and quickly pull myself away.

"Sorry!" I say rather embarrassedly, "Usually I land better than that." I mutter as I feel a blush on my cheeks. Thank god the sunset during the time I had fallen asleep so he couldn't see how red my cheeks had become.

"S'alright," He says with a shrug before turning and heading towards the entrance.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. God was that awkward! I mean he's handsome and only a year older than me but still. He's a dauntless leader. Doesn't get much more off limits than that. I look up to see him pause at the door. My brow furrows a bit at this.

"To answer your question," he calls out without turning around, "your dad isn't the only one who needs a drink sometimes." With that he enters the Compound and leaves me standing outside by the train tracks, mouth agape.

**A/N**

**Hey Guys! Let me know what you think. This is my first Fanfiction. Love to hear from you guys!**


	2. Chapter 2: No One's Here to Sleep

******Disclaimer: The Divergent trilogy and all unoriginal characters belong to Veronica Roth**

**Chapter 2: No One's Here to Sleep**

I walk back towards the apartment my dad and I share lost in thought. Eric knew my dad from the bar. That much was pretty obvious. I knew Eric was a bit rougher but I honestly hadn't expected that he spent a lot of time at the bar. Maybe he didn't and just had met my dad there once or twice. That would make more sense considering my dad was there every night just about.

I get to the apartment and let out a sigh. It's been an odd night and a stressful day. I'm ready to grab a snack from the kitchen and go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be even more stressful than today was. I'll have to break the news to Steve that I don't plan on going anywhere, that I'm staying in Dauntless. I'm sure that conversation isn't going to go too well for either of us.

I fish out my keys and unlock the door. The first thing that's strange is the living room lamp is on. I know for a fact I had turned it off. I step farther in and shut the door behind me. Next thing I notice is the stereo in my dad's room is on. Definitely out of the norm. I wrinkle my nose as I hear the familiar tune of a rather raunchy Nine Inch Nails song play through the walls. Ugh my dad must have decided to bring his lady friend back to the apartment for the night. I don't want anything to do with either of them so I quickly walk to the fridge and after a moment of debate decide on a cold slice of pizza. I honestly don't really like pizza and its even more disgusting cold but beggars can't be choosers. With my snack in hand I try to get back to my room as fast as possible but sadly it isn't quick enough.

"Give me a minute sweetheart, I've got a nice bottle of wine in the fridge that I've just been waiting for the right time to open." My dad says as he walks out of the room shutting the door behind him. He turns and see's me right as my hand grabs the doorknob. "Evee! Darling where have you been all evening?"

Of course, the one night I just want to and pass out he wants to have an actual conversation. Breath in, breath out, and I turn around to face him. "I just took a train ride for awhile after school."

"Sounds like a good time," he says swaying sloppily as he walked to the fridge and pulls out a bottle of wine. He pulls the cork out of the already half empty bottle and puts a finger up to his mouth in a shushing gesture grinning like a loon. "She thinks I'm opening a new bottle, but she's too drunk to realize it's already open." He then laughs like its some great joke as he begins to stumble back to his room.

"Yeah and too drunk to realize her mistake in men," I mutter quietly under my breath, but I've had an off day and it's not quiet enough.

"What was that?" he asks, all the mirth in his voice gone.

I just couldn't keep my mouth shut today. That line of bravery and stupidity I had been straddling all night was gone and I'd ended up on the side of stupidity. I turn around and face him. He's making his way towards me. He already knows what I said, no use trying to take it back now. Maybe I can apologize and get myself out of the yelling fit that's about to ensue.

"I'm so.." is all I get out before he back hands me. My chin jerks to the side with the impact and I feel the sting on my cheek from where his knuckles had hit my cheekbone right at the corner of my eye. I bring a hand to my face, extremely surprised. I was ready for him to yell, to grab me and shake me a little bit. That's usually as bad as it gets. Tonight is the first time he's actually hit me. I feel the tears prick at the corners of my eyes as I look up into his brown ones.

He stares at me for a moment, his eyes glazed with drunkenness and anger. Suddenly the glaze seems to shift a bit and I see remorse start to shine through. "Evee, I didn't mean to… I don't know what came over me. I…" he says but I don't let him finish. I turn and run back into my room as the tears begin to leak down my face.

I slam the door and lock it, breathing heavily. What the hell was that? My dad has gotten angry at me before, he's been mad about my comments about the women he's with but never like that. He's never been violent. I guess it was just a matter of time before he snapped. I wipe the tears from my face and walk towards my bathroom. I get half way there before remembering the pizza in my hand. After a moment of debate I toss it in the trash, my appetite lost for the evening. That taken care of I make my way to the bathroom and look in the mirror.

The spot where he hit is starting to bruise I notice and frown. I had really hoped he hadn't hit hard enough to leave a mark but the bruise was spreading around my eye. Great now I would have a black eye to find someway to explain to everyone. Though the Dauntless were a violent bunch by nature, hitting your child wasn't exactly normal or accepted. I think for a second about it as I turn the shower on. What'll my story be? I slip off my clothes and step in the shower. I misjudge how slippery the tile is going to be and have to catch myself before I slip. Man am I clumsy today. Wait! That'll work, I can just tell a slightly embarrassing story about how I slipped in the shower and hit my eye on the water knob. Its better than the truth for now at least.

I wash off quickly and spend a few extra minutes just standing there. I let the hot water rain down on my back and soothe me. Once I turn off the water and step out I shiver a bit at the change in temperature before drying off and wrapping the towel around me. I stand in front of the now fogged up mirror, not sure if I should wipe it and look at my face or not. I was in the shower for a good thirty minutes and I'm sure the bruise has developed further. I finally decide to wipe away the fog. I at least need my reflection to brush my hair before turning in for the night. One swipe of my hand and I look at my fathers handy work. The bruise has spread into a nice looking shiner. Its lighter than I expected but that's good, hopefully it will heal quicker.

I quickly brush out my hair and then walk out of the bathroom. I change into my pajamas, a pair of short black shorts and a soft black camisole. I hop into bed and after picking out a soothing playlist on the small music player I own, hook it up to my stereo and turn off the bedside lamp. I fall asleep quickly, thoroughly exhausted from the day and by some miracle I don't dream.

**pagebreak**

I wake up to the smell of bacon. I immediately pinch myself. This can't be real. I haven't woken up to a hot and ready breakfast since my mother was around. That was years ago. I head to the bathroom, brushing my teeth before quickly picking out a pair of black jeans and a black tank top. I lace up my boots and cautiously open my bedroom door. I walk out slowly to see my dad at the kitchen counter, his back turned to me as he dumps scrambled eggs onto a plate that already has bacon on it. I just stand there and stare. I must still be sleeping. I pinched myself but there's no other explanation.

My dad turns around and pauses, his eyes meet mine and then shift to look at the left side of my face. A pained expression crosses his features before he sets the plate down on the counter.

"I made this for you," he says awkwardly and rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I mean you should have breakfast, it's a big day for you."

"You know what today is?" I say not quite believing any of it and not moving from my spot by my bedroom door.

He nods and then says, "Good luck today, whatever you get is what's meant to be." He walks around the counter, grabs his jacket from the couch and then leaves without another word, headed to the control room for work.

I stare at the eggs and bacon before deciding that it's probably best that I eat. I skipped dinner last night for one and for two the bacon smelled really good. I eat my food quickly before heading out to meet with the other Dauntless at the tracks. I'm so absorbed in my thoughts that I don't notice someone else walking down the hallway before I run right into them. I stumble back and chastise myself for being so clumsy lately before looking up to see who I hit.

"Hey sorry, wasn't watching where I was going," I apologize and then feel my stomach drop as I stare up at Eric.

"Obviously not," he says an eyebrow raised before his eye flick over to the dark spot on my cheek and eye.

I look down quickly trying to let my hair fall over the left side of my face and cover the bruise. "Well sorry, I should be going, don't want to miss the train on testing day," I say quickly before darting off down the hall.

I pay more attention to where I'm going now so that I don't run into anyone else and make it to the tracks without incident. I stand waiting for the train and feel a nudge on my shoulder. I glance over to see Nic standing beside me smiling. His smile falters immediately when he sees my face though. I quickly turn my head away but he grabs my chin and makes me look at him, examining the bruise.

"What happened?" he asked, concern clear in his eyes.

"I was just clumsy and slipped in the shower. Hit my eye on the damn handle," I say hoping that I was convincing enough.

Nic is about to respond but the train rounds the corner and we are forced to start running to catch it. I grab on to the handle and haul myself up, Nic not far behind me. We get ourselves settled, sitting down against the back wall.

"You remember what I said about you not being good for Candor?" he asks after a moment.

I just nod and he shakes his head slightly, accepting that I'm not going to tell him the truth. I can tell he's not happy about it though. I decide that I'll tell him later tonight after the test. He at least deserves the truth. We ride the rest of the way in silence. I stand up, ready to jump and feel Nic lock his elbows with me. I look at him slightly surprised and he smiles back, letting me know there are no hard feelings. We jump and role, laughing. It's a ritual we've done for years and only didn't when we were mad at each other.

I stand and turn to see Steve standing towards the back of the line with the other Erudites taking the test today. As Nic and I make our way over to the Dauntless line. I catch Steve's eye and smile and wave. He waves back smiling but as soon as he see's my eye his brow furrows a bit and he looks at me questioningly. I just smile and shake my head, letting him know its nothing. He smiles again before turning back to talk to his Erudite friends.

I turn back to Nic and listen in on the conversation about how the majority of the Dauntless born hope they get Dauntless. Though this is true I do know of a few people who want to transfer. The line continues to move forward at a constant pace until we are all inside seated and waiting for our names to be called. Nic is called before me, giving me a reassuring smile before he walks into the testing room. I sit alone tapping my foot impatiently. A man in Abnegation gray walks out of the room in front of me and calls my name. I stand, wiping my palms on my jeans to try and get some of the sweat off them before walking into the room. I look around at the mirrors before taking a seat and trying to steady my breathing.

"Relax," the man says with a slight chuckle. "You have nothing to worry about." He gives me a smiling before handing me a small glass with blue liquid in it. "Drink up."

I look at the glass a moment, wanting to ask what its for but shrug and shoot it back. It doesn't taste very good but it's not terrible. Not thirty seconds later I feel myself slipping out of consciousness.

I wake in a field with tall grass. There are two pedestals on either side of me, one with a hunk of cheese and the other with a large dagger. Suddenly a voice booms "Choose."

I look between the two objects, heavily debating which I should choose. The voice commands again. "Give me a minute," I snap still not sure which I want to pick.

"Choose now." The voice commands yet again. I'm fed up with its impatience and just look up at the sky, arms crossed over my chest. The pedestals disappear and I hear a voice calling for help. I turn to see a man limping towards me, his leg obviously wounded. Behind him a dog sprints, ready to attack. I instantly run towards the man. "Get down!" I shout waving my arms wildly. The man listens and drops to the ground. I run to his side just as the dog makes it to him.

I put my hands up and drop to the dog's eye level. "Easy, easy there." I try to say soothingly. At first it seems to be working then the dogs posture immediately shifts and it jumps at my throat. I dodge out of the way and wrap my arms around its neck, holding on tightly and squeezing its throat. I wait till it stops struggling and hangs limply in my arms dead. I didn't want to kill the dog but it left me no choice. I drop the dog and immediately move to the man.

"Let me see your wound," I say looking at his leg. Rolling up the pants leg I can see where the dog had bite him. I tear off the bottom of my tank top and wrap it tightly on his wound. "You should be okay as long as we get it cleaned up soon." I say with a smile.

"Thank you," the man says, his steel blue gaze meeting mine, our eyes catching before I jolt back awake.

The Abnegation man is intensely looking at the computer, typing away. "What were my results?" I ask a bit desperately.

"Dauntless," he says without turning away from the computer screen. I let out a small sigh of relief before he turns around, "and Erudite."

"What? That's not possible." I say. Two aptitudes? That only happens to people who were divergent. I most certainly was not divergent… I couldn't be, could I?

"Possible just unusual, especially from a Dauntless born," he says with a sigh. "I've entered you in the computer manually as Dauntless. I would suggest you choose either Amity or Abnegation though. Dauntless isn't a safe place for those with your results."

"I don't want to leave," I say, still shocked by my results.

"It's ultimately up to you, just be careful, whatever you choose." He says giving me a small smile before shooing me out of the room.

I walk out of the room and make my way back to the front of the Hub. I absolutely cannot believe I am Divergent. It doesn't change my decision but growing up in Dauntless I know how dangerous it is. I know I can hide it. I'll be fine. I continue walking, headed toward the tracks, lost in thought. I'm stopped by someone calling my name. I turn to see Steve running toward me, a happy smile on his face. I force a smile and wave to him.

"Hey!" he says smiling as he comes up beside me. "How'd it go for you?"

"It went well," I say returning his smile and turn as I see the train approaching. "Ride with me for a bit?" I ask, he nods and together we run towards the tracks and alongside the train. I hop on easily and help him up. We sit down and watch the city roll by.

"So what were your results?" He asks after a few moments. I chew my bottom lip nervously. Not sure how to respond. Seeing my discomfort he grabs my hand and holds it in his. "It's okay, the results are really just a suggestion anyways."

I nod lamely. He brushes my bangs aside and lightly touches my bruised cheek, raising an eyebrow. I laugh lightly. "I slipped in the shower and hit my eye on the handle. I was so tired yesterday night, just sorta got clumsy," I said smiling a bit to make the lie more convincing.

"Oh yeah use how tired you were as an excuse for being clumsy," He says giving me a joking grin. I punch him lightly in the arm grinning back.

"I got Erudite," he says after a few minutes of silence. I feel my heart skip a beat. Here's where he asks me to leave for him. "You got Dauntless didn't you?" he asks.

"Yeah, I did," I say turning towards him.

"You don't have to stay you know," he says looking down.

There it was. I knew it was coming "Steve I.."

"You don't." he interrupts firmly. "You're smart, you'd do really well in Erudite. I love you Evee, we can't be together if you're in a different faction!" he says, his voice rising a bit.

"Well I don't want to leave Steve!" I say, feeling myself getting angry. I stand up at this point, no longer feeling like sitting down. "I think its time we went our separate ways. We both want different lives Steve. Like you said we can't be together if we're not in the same faction." I say calmly my back turned towards him. I see the Dauntless Compound, the train beginning to slow down.

"Evee," his voice pleads behind me. "Please don't do this."

I swallow the lump in my throat and turn to look at him for a brief moment. There are tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over. "I'm so sorry Steve," I say before turning around and jumping.

I land the most gracefully I have in awhile and turn to see Steve holding the handle of the train, hanging outside watching me as he gets farther and farther away. I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I wipe them furiously before I turn to head back into the compound.

"You're landing was better this time," Eric's voice calls out behind me.

I jump and turn to see him standing at the edge of the tracks, arms crossed over his chest. "Were… were you on the train?" I ask, afraid of his answer.

He doesn't answer right away, staring at me before nodding. "Next car over."

"What did you hear?" I ask mortified at the possibility of him hearing any of it.

"Tuned it out after the first couple minutes," he says looking bored.

I nod; his indifference feels like a punch in the gut. It's almost worse than him hearing it all. I turn and race through the Compound, trying to make it back to my room without interruption.

"Eveline, wait." A voice calls out behind me. This just hasn't been my week, I think to myself as I stop and turn around surprised when I see an unfamiliar face walking towards me up the steps of the pit.

"I'm sorry, do I know you," I ask him as he comes to stop in front of me. He's tall and lean with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes.

"Well, we've never officially met but I've seen around the Compound. My name's Four," he says and offers his hand. I shake it after a moment, still confused. "I work in the control room with your father." He says after a moment longer.

"Oh," I say dumbly, still not quite sure why he stopped me.

"He sent me to tell you that he won't be able to get out of the control room for tomorrow." He says. I'm not surprised. Didn't expect him to come anyways.

"Oh, thank you Four," I say and turn to leave.

"So you're choosing tomorrow?" He says as he falls into step beside me.

I'm a bit confused as to why he's here talking to me and walking beside me but decide friendly conversation couldn't hurt. "Yeah," I say and smile at him. "Shouldn't be too hard a choice. I mean who would want to leave this beautiful place," I say gesturing to the dark wet corridors in front of us.

"Yeah home sweet home," he says with a laugh, throwing a small grin my way. He then glances at my eye as everyone does eventually. "Quite a shiner you got there, how's the other guy look?"

"Well considering it's the shower handle…" I say trailing off with a laugh. He chuckles a bit at that.

"You plan on getting even tonight?" He grins and I nod smiling. "You're a brave soldier," he says smiling at me. "You know they have some cream in the infirmary that'll make that bruise go away a lot faster."

"Really?" I say, I'd been to the infirmary a few times as most Dauntless children had but I'd never heard of a bruise cream.

"Yeah, Erudite sent it over a couple months ago. Getting us prepared and stocked up for initiation," he says with a nod. We've made it to the door to my apartment at this point.

"Well this is my stop," I say smiling at him. "I'll have to check out that cream at some point though."

"Sounds like a plan. I've gotta get back to the control room, who knows what'll happen if I let my eyes off that screen for more than five minutes," he jokes, before turning to head down the hall towards the control room. He then pauses and turns back around. "Tell you what," he calls back, "if you end up staying tomorrow I'll bring you some of that cream. Deal?"

"Deal," I say smiling before heading back into the apartment. Four seemed like a genuinely nice guy. It had been nice to have a normal conversation after the hell the past few days had been. I grabbed a slice of cold pizza, eating it as I headed back to my room. I took a quick shower, smiling a little at Four's comment about a rematch. After brushing my teeth and throwing my pajamas on I hop into bed and set an alarm. I stare up at the ceiling, focusing on my breathing to relax before I drift off.

**A/N**

**Hey! The reviews, followers and favorites inspired me to go ahead and post my next chapter. Let me know what you think! The next chapter will open from Eric's POV but switch back to Evee's pretty quickly. Want to get some small view from Eric's side. Hope you guys liked the Chapter! Oh and song names are the chapter titles. Just songs I listened to while writing them. This one is No One's Here to Sleep by Bastille. **


	3. Chapter 3: Weightless

**********Disclaimer: The Divergent trilogy and all unoriginal characters belong to Veronica Roth**

**A/N: Quick note, it was brought to my attention that there are Cliches in the story and I'll admit that there definitely are. Sadly some of them will not be avoidable haha, some situations are cliche because they work, but I will do my best to avoid being overly cliche. Note on my OC the description of how she looks is basically a description of myself. You can see the picture of me from my Avatar lol. Now I didn't plan on updating again this soon but I thought I should go ahead and get Eric's POV out there so it can clear up some of the 'How's he always there at the right moment' questions. Sometimes you have to have characters show up at opportune moments for the story ;). Anyways hope you guys enjoy this chapter. More to come in a few days! Please Review! I love both hearing where I can improve and whats working :) and hopefully I'm doing a good job where Eric is concerned not making him too ridiculously OOC. Song: Weightless by Black Lab**

**Chapter 3: Weightless**

**Eric's POV**

My eyes flutter open and I groan slightly at the pounding behind them. I don't get stomachaches with hangovers but they're replaced with harsher headaches. I rub a hand over my face and turn to look at the clock on my bedside table. The numbers glare back at me reading 7:23. Well up a few minutes before my alarm but no use going back to bed now. I turn on the bedside lamp and groan as the light hits my sensitive eyes. Popping a few pills of pain meds from the small bottle sitting on the table, I finally force myself out of the bed.

I walk to the restroom flicking on the lights and looking in the mirror. I look about as good as I feel, dark circles prominent under my eyes. Splashing a bit of cold water on my face I think back to the night before. My meeting with Jeanie had been uneventful but she expected me at Erudite head quarters in a few hours to watch results as they came in and try and pick out any suspicious activity. Should any of those of suspect transfer to Dauntless I'm to keep an eye on them. I liked being a leader, liked being in power but sometimes I get bored of Jeanie's obsession with Divergence. She'd help me get my position so I owed it to her and like I said, I liked the power.

After the meeting I'd been very surprised to see a dependent aboard the train, and she had spoken boldly to me, which I had to admit was slightly impressive. I was even more surprised when she turned out to be Joseph Lively's daughter. I met the guy at the bar. I wasn't there nearly as much as he was, seeing as he practically lived there, but any time I had gone he was there, nursing a bottle of whiskey. I'd never thought much of him, spoken a few words here and there. He hadn't ever mentioned having a daughter though. I picked up on the last name though. When I'd gotten to the bar that night he wasn't there, I assumed he was off at some woman's apartment seeing as that was his normal M.O. but it had seemed a bit earlier than usual. I'd shrugged it off and ordered a whole bottle of vodka "on the rocks".

After a quick styling of my hair into a small mohawk I exited the bathroom to get dressed. I dressed quickly and headed out to stop by the cafeteria for breakfast and a word with Max. I walked down the corridors of Dauntless, squinting a bit at the bright lights. The pain meds hadn't quite kicked in yet. As I walk I smirk at how many of the younger as well as the older members move out of my way, quickly scurrying off like scared mice. I suppose I did look a bit intimidating plus I'd earned a name for myself when some older members had landed themselves in the infirmary for underestimating me due to my age and lack of experience. I proved myself worthy of the position of Dauntless leader. My smirk falters a bit as I remember that Max still wasn't completely convinced, still trying to meet up with Four and give him a position in government.

I enter the cafeteria and feel a bit of anger swirling in the pit of my stomach as I think of four. The damn Stiff had managed to get ahead of me in rankings during initiation. We had been pretty evenly matched but he had beaten me in the physical fights. I smirked at that thought, thinking now it may turn out a little differently if we spared again. I had bulked up a bit more since initiation and had some extra training under my belt from being prepared for leadership

I shake myself from my thoughts and head over to the leader table, sitting down across from Max. I pull a few pieces of sausage onto my play and scoop up some eggs. I eat silently for a few minutes before speaking to Max.

"Jeanie has asked me to go to Erudite again today to watch the test results," I say before taking another bite of sausage, wishing there was some syrup around. Sausage and syrup had been a favorite of mine since I'd been a kid.

"That's fine," Max says nodding his head before returning to his meal. Not much of a talker Max. If its business he's all about it but otherwise he tends to remain pretty quite.

"You ready to oversee this bunch of Initiates, Eric?" says Kylie, the only female leader. She's smirking at me as she sips on a glass of orange juice. I grimace at her comment. Age doesn't matter in Dauntless usually but when it comes to which leader has to oversee initiation, traditionally the duty falls to the youngest leader. Kylie had been the youngest before I'd come along and filled the empty spot.

"I am, I'll keep you updated on how disappointing they are," I say rolling my eyes before nodding to her and excusing myself. I only make it a few steps before Max stops me.

"Eric, would you please deliver this to the control room," he says holding out a small disk. "Let Four know it's a program update." I grab the disk and with that I'm dismissed.

I begin to make my way to the control room, slightly pissed that I'm going to be forced to interact with Four today. I was enjoying my time off from him before I had to deal with him while overseeing initiation, as he would be training the transfers. I just wanted one more Four-less day before the weeks I would have to spend working closely with him.

I round a corner and someone runs directly into me. I look down ready to lay into the person when I see Eveline regaining her balance after the collision. I hold back a laugh; this girl just can't seem to remain steady on her own two feet.

"Hey sorry, wasn't watching where I was going," she apologizes and glances up at me, surprise clear on her face when she see's who it is.

"Obviously not," I say raising an eyebrow at her. My eyes shift to see the bruise on the side of her face that fades into a black eye. My gaze narrows a bit, either she's clumsier than I thought or someone hit her. I briefly think back to Joseph not being at the bar but he doesn't seem like the violent type of drunk.

"Well sorry, I should be going, don't want to miss the train on testing day," she says a bit fast as she tries to cover her face with her hair before hurrying down the hall.

I watch her small frame disappear before shrugging and resuming my course to the control room. I make it there in about five minutes, opening the door to a small room filled with a ton of screens flicking back and forth between cameras. Four sits in a chair on the right leaning back, arms behind his head, expressionless as he watches the screen. Joseph Lively is on the right. His head is in his hands, elbows propped on his knees before he turns at the sound of the door shutting. Four doesn't move as I walk over and throw the disk on the desk in front of them.

"You are to update the programs," I say, smirking. It gives me a small bit of joy to boss Four around from time to time.

"Understood," Four says, still not turning from the computers. It's slightly annoying but I brush it off turning to Joe.

"Met your daughter last night Lively," I say, this perks him up a bit and he meets my gaze. "She was riding the train after curfew, I decided to leave punishment up to you."

"Oh right," he mumbles his eyes shifting away from my. "I'll ground her for tonight but not much I can do after the Choosing Ceremony tomorrow," he says looking down.

My eyes narrow. I thought I caught a glimpse of guilt before he looked away but I couldn't be sure. I decide to dismiss it and turn to leave. I make my way for the tracks figuring I should get heading over to Erudite to meet with Jeanie.

The train ride is uneventful. I hop out as it slows at the entrance of the Erudite compound. It would come to a complete stop if I let it but no Dauntless would be caught dead waiting for the train to stop before exiting. I make my way to Jeanie's building, nodding to the secretary as I walk into the elevator. I've been here so many times now that they don't even ask if I have an appointment anymore. As I walk into Jeanie's office she's sitting behind her desk, watching results pop up on a screen in front of her. I walk over and sit down in the chair across from her without a word.

"None so far," is all she says, I just nod and sit, twiddling my thumbs as we wait for any sign of Divergence.

Things pass by pretty uneventfully. Five odd results from Abnegation, and two from Candor. Jeanie rants a bit about Abnegation as the results come in. I just agree with her and nod when I'm supposed to. It honestly doesn't matter who's divergent or where they come from as far as I'm concerned. It only matters if they choose Dauntless or Erudite. No way to touch them in the other factions, except maybe Candor.

"Well that's interesting," Jeanie says after a moment.

"What is?" I ask, honestly not having paid attention for the last thirty minutes.

"Two manually entered results, both from Dauntless." I perk up a bit at this. It's uncommon for there to be Divergence from Dauntless.

"Maybe the computers actually malfunctioned," I say with a shrug. It happened from time to time.

"Maybe," Jeanie says, staring intently at the screen.

"Which two?" I ask her after a moment.

"A young man by the name of Nicholas James, and a young lady named Eveline Lively," She says looking at the screen before meeting my gaze. "Do you know them?"

"I've met Eveline briefly, and the other name sounds familiar," I tell her. I am a bit surprised. I hadn't expected any odd results from Dauntless and certainly not from Eveline. Even from our brief meeting on the train I could tell she was Dauntless through and through. The other boy though I didn't know so I couldn't say anything about him.

"Hmm, well if they don't transfer do keep an eye on them for me please," Jeanie says and I nod. "You may go now Eric, there are only a few more testers left. I'll inform you if any more odd results appear."

"Until next time," I say standing up and making my way out of the Erudite Compound. This place use to be my home but I was never happier than the day I left it behind. It was a bit of an annoyance that I still had to come back but my true home was with Dauntless and that's all that mattered.

I run alongside the train and easily swing myself in. I lean against the back wall; standing and watching the city pass by. The train slows a bit as it reaches the hub and I see two figures run along side the train before jumping into the cart in front of me. I raise an eyebrow as I recognize Eveline. The other is some kid from Erudite, he looks familiar but must not have been in my class because I don't really recognize him. The two are engrossed in conversation but I can't hear it over the sound of the train on the tracks, but I can see the interaction through the small windows at the ends of the carts. At one point the Erudite boy grabs Eveline's hand and holds it in his own.

I turn away, feeling a bit disgusted at the display of affection, a small heat in the pit of my stomach. It's an odd feeling, similar to what I felt when Four was ranked above me but not nearly as intense. I decided to analyze myself later as I turn back around at the sound of shouting.

"…Evee, we can't be together if you're in a different faction!" I catch the end of the boy's yelling.

"Well I don't want to leave Steve!" Eveline shouts back and stands up quickly, walking towards the cart entrance.

I don't hear the rest of the conversation but I can tell Steve isn't happy about it, as it looks like he's about to cry. The train begins to slow as we approach Dauntless, Eveline, or Evee as the boy called her jumps from the car and lands smoothly, much better than yesterday. I land about ten feet behind her and watch as she begins to rub at her eyes. I feel a pang of sorrow for her but quickly shake it away.

"You're landing was better this time," I say, drawing her attention to me. She jumps slightly at my voice.

"Were… were you on the train?" she questions.

I pause and think of how to respond and finally decide on the truth, " Next car over," I say.

"What did you hear?" She asks, the anxiety of me hearing her lover's tiff clear on her face.

"Turned it out after the first couple minutes," I say, deciding to go with indifference. Look on her face before she nods and runs off makes me regret my cold attitude for a second, but just a second, before I shrug and make my way into the compound after her. I see her at the top of the pit before she disappears into the hallways with Four beside her, obviously engaged in conversation. I feel the familiar spark of anger and something else prick at me before I shake my head and turn heading to the bar. I needed a long night of drinking before the initiates arrived and to forget about watching her walk away with Four, though I didn't quite understand why the latter was a factor.

**Evee's POV**

The train is much more crowded than usual today. The families of those choosing riding with them. It's loud, everyone talking excitedly but some families try not to look at each other, probably those who know their child is about to defect. I sit next to Nic. His family is engrossed in conversation and he stares out of the train, not saying a word. I bump my shoulder into his, shaking him out of whatever thoughts he was locked in.

"Bit distracted?" I ask smiling

"Yeah you could say that," he says returning my grin halfheartedly.

"I never got to ask you last night. What were you results?" I say and he immediately shifts his eyes away from mine.

"I got Dauntless, jus as I expected to," he says looking out towards the approaching city.

"You know you wouldn't do well in Candor either," I say to him and his gaze snaps back to mine. I lower my voice and lean in, "What were you're results really," I whisper.

"Evee, I don't really want to talk about it, especially on a train full of Dauntless," he says as his eyes shift around the cart. He was looking specifically at the Coopers. The matriarch of the family, Helen, was a higher-ranked government official in Dauntless. It was obvious at that point why he didn't want to talk. I can't say I saw it coming, I was completely caught off guard but felt a bit of relief. I wasn't alone in this anymore.

"Nic," I say causing him to look at me again, "Me too." No other words are necessary. I see the relief in his eyes right away, something about being together in this is comforting.

"Are you staying?" he asks and I nod.

"We can do it Nic, we'll just have to be careful during stage two," I say to him. I didn't know the details of the second stage but I'd overheard some of the members from last year's initiation talking about it in the cafeteria when they were going through it. It's simulation based. I knew from years in Dauntless that simulations were the easiest way of spotting Divergence. I wasn't exactly sure how but I guess I'd find out when it came time.

"Hey at least we'll have each other through it," he says grinning at me. I smile back at him, taking in his features. He's a good-looking guy that's for sure. High cheek bones and a straight nose. Light brown hair that could probably do with a cut and hazel eyes. We'd been best friends since two years into school. I'd never felt anything more than the attraction of friendship where Nic was concerned. Sometimes I wish I did. Nic's an amazing guy, an amazing friend. The spark just isn't there. Sometimes I thought my life would be much simpler if I could just fall in love with Nic.

The Train slows as it approaches the Hub and we all stand and begin to jump out. Nic and I lock elbows, smiling at each other. I feel a small prick of sadness, realizing this is the last time we'll be doing this ritual. There will be no reason for us to come to the hub after today. We jump and roll, bouncing up and brushing ourselves off before we make our way to the ceremony.

I sit with Nic and his family, considering I have no family here. A small part of me had hoped my dad would show, but I knew better than to expect anything from that man. I looked around glancing at all the factions. Amity was chatting away in a lively fashion, Erudite and candor speaking in a calmer manner, while Abnegation sat quietly in their section.

It was Amity's turn to lead the ceremony, their leader, Johanna, giving the yearly spiel about how important the faction system was to our way of life. She spoke of how happy today was as we welcomed new dependents into adulthood. With that said she began calling names off of the list. I didn't pay much attention to where people went, clapping when someone transferred or stayed in Dauntless, clapping very enthusiastically for Nic, but otherwise not paying much attention, until it was Steve's turn.

Steve stood and walks up to the front of the room and takes the knife from Johanna. He makes a small cut in his palm then looks to the bowls in front of him. He walks towards the Erudite bowl before swerving to the left and letting his blood fall into the last. The sizzling of the coals hits my ears and I feel as if the world is closing in on me.

He can't… He can't choose Dauntless! I was ready. I was ready for my new life. My fresh start! Now he's transferred to Dauntless?! I feel as if I'm going to have a panic attack. My breathing becomes shallow and I feel a constriction in my chest. I'm vaguely aware of the Dauntless clapping, celebrating the new member. I can't clap though. I just sit shell shocked, frozen and unable to move. I sit completely still until I hear my name called.

I stand slowly and make my way down to the bowls. I take the knife and barely hear Johanna telling me to choose wisely as I stare at the bowls in front of me. I cut my palm and hesitate. I look at the Erudite bowl. I would do well there, I am intelligent, I could have my fresh start. It doesn't take long to make up my mind though as I turn my palm open above the coals, letting my blood sizzle against the flames. I am Dauntless. I will not leave because of Steve.

I turn towards the other initiates as the Dauntless clap and cheer. I briefly glance at Steve, giving him an indifferent look, before heading straight for Nic and the other Dauntless born. I stand tall as Nic gives me a worried look. I shoot him a grin as the last of those choosing lets their blood spill. We take off, a massive blur of black, headed for the tracks. I have chosen Dauntless. It was time I faced my fears and proved it is where I truly belong. Steve would learn very quickly that this changed nothing.


	4. Chapter 4: Rootless Tree

******Disclaimer: The Divergent trilogy and all unoriginal characters belong to Veronica Roth**

**A/N: The song is Rootless Tree - Damien Rice**

**Chapter 4: Rootless Tree**

We are dauntless, we bolt from the ceremony, shouting and running. We head to the tracks to catch the train to the Compound. We'll be jumping through the "member" entrance. It's the entrance right before the actual stop to the compound. The member entrance is only used for the day of the Choosing Ceremony. It's a Dauntless tradition. No dependents are aloud to use the entrance before they have official chosen to remain in Dauntless.

We get to the tracks and wait for the train. I glance in the direction of the transfers seeing Steve has made it this far. I feel my lip curl a bit in distaste. A part of me desperately hopes he won't make it on the train, that he won't make it through the first day of initiation. I shove those thoughts away, shaking my head. I shouldn't think like that. I'm Dauntless but I'm not cruel.

I turn my head back to focus on the tracks. We don't have to wait long before the sound of the train speeding towards us fills the air. I run along side it with my fellow Dauntless born. We all easily pull ourselves up. I sit down besides Nic as we wait for the time to jump.

"So…" he says glancing over at me. I give him a look. "Come on we should talk about it Evee."

"About what Nic? That I thought I was going to have a fresh start and that A-hole has to ruin it?" I say and jerk my head towards the cart were the transfers boarded. I let out a sigh. "I had prepared myself and moved on. Come to grips with it all. Him being here…" I trail off and shake my head, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself. I have this nasty habit of crying when I get angry. I can feel the tears coming. After taking a few calming breathes I turn back to Nic. "It just makes things a lot more confusing and complicated now."

"I understand," he says sympathetically. "So do you want to stay with Steve? I think that's the big question you have to answer."

"I just don't know right now. I mean the reason we broke up was because we wouldn't be in the same faction anymore." I say, running a hand through my hair. "But honestly I just think we're too different. He didn't really want to be Dauntless, he just came here for me. I don't think it would work."

"Are you going to give it a chance to?" he asks. I think about that for a minute. Did I want to try and stay with Steve, try and make it work? In all honesty I couldn't answer that yet.

"I really don't know," I say looking back at him. He gives me a sympathetic smile before turning his gaze out the front of the cart.

"Looks like its time to jump," he says.

I see people a few carts ahead of us jumping out onto the roof of a near bye building. My eyebrows jump a bit in surprise. Well I didn't expect this but I suppose it won't be too bad. I back up a bit and as the roof comes into view I take a running start and leap. I hit the ground running before loosing my balance a bit and ducking into a roll to avoid causing too much damage to myself. I stand and brush myself off before going and heading over to the other initiates.

Eric stands on at the edge of the building on a small ledge. He must look extremely intimidating to all the transfers, heck he scares us Dauntless born I can only imagine how they feel.

"Below me is the members entrance to the Compound. Take the plunge and become one of us. If you choose not to you don't belong here. Our initiates have the honor of going first," he says and looks at the lot of us expectantly.

I look away and suddenly feel my stomach drop. Steve is pushing his way through the crowd towards me. Mind made up I immediately step forward. I don't exactly want to be the first to throw myself off a building but if it will help me avoid Steve for another couple hours then I'm all for it. Eric looks at me with a bored expression as I step onto the ledge. I look down and see a hole with no bottom. I gulp and take a deep breath.

"Today initiate," Eric says. I whip my head around to glare at him. I let myself begin to fall backwards and then throwing caution to the wind flip Eric the bird before entering freefall. I catch the sound of a few snickers and gasps before all I hear is the rushing of the wind. I feel like I'm falling forever and have a brief moment of panic before my back hits a net. I bounce a few times before a hand grabs mine and helps me down from the net. I glance up to meet Four's dark blue gaze.

"You decided to stay," he says with a grin. I return the smile and nod. "First jumper Evee!" he calls out and is met with whoops and hollering from the Dauntless crowd. "Go stand over by Lauren while we wait for the others to get the guts to jump," he says smiling and pointing over to a lean woman with dark hair. I make my way over and stand by her.

"Congrats first jumper," she says sounding anything but excited about it. I wrinkle my nose at her sarcasm but make no mention of it.

It doesn't take long for the rest of the initiates to jump. Four tells the Dauntless born to follow Lauren and the transfers to follow him. I see Eric bounce on the net and hop off, as we're about to leave. His eyes meet my and he shoots me a glare. Shit. I should not have flipped him off. I turn and try to blend in with the group but feel a hand on my shoulder stop me. I turn expecting to see Eric but instead am surprised to find Four standing there, holding something out to me.

"Told ya if you stayed I'd bring this for that shiner," he says with a grin.

I grab the small jar from his hand and smile at him. "It better work," I say with a laugh before waving goodbye and turning to follow the group. I catch a glimpse of Eric out of the corner of my eye and gulp, the grin wiped from my face. He's still sending me death glares and I get the feeling he's going to make me pay at some point during initiation. I quickly leave with the Dauntless born and push Eric from my thoughts for now.

Lauren leads us through the compound to the Dauntless born initiate dorms. The room is barren except for the beds squeezed into the small space. Lauren didn't have to tell us everything was Co-Ed, we'd heard enough over the years. I'm sure many of the boys, and even some of the girls were ecstatic. I honestly was comfortable with myself and didn't really care if anyone saw me but it didn't mean I was excited about it.

"Alright initiates here's the deal," Lauren began. "You have your families here but we require you to use this room for the entirety of initiation. You are not to go home to sleep, for meals, or to shower," a few of the boys snicker at that one, earning a quick glare from Lauren. They shut up and she continues. "You must be in the training room by 8:00. Just like the transfers you're late you're out. You will have an hour break at lunch then training will resume until 6:00. After that it's your time. Now pick your beds, go home and grab whatever clothing you wish to bring for initiation, say goodbye to your parents. Then meet in the cafeteria for dinner" With that she turned and walked out of the room.

Nic and I scramble and get two beds by each other and near to the restroom. As soon as my bed was claimed I smile at Nic and tell him I'll meet him at the cafeteria. I walk out and make my way back towards the apartment.

I walk in the door and stop as I see my dad sitting on the living room couch. I pause for a moment and glared at him. He stands up and opens his mouth to speak but I completely ignore him and walked into my room. I began to pack my things. I grab a bag from my closet and began to stuff it, first with my sneakers for training, the ones I had on were for leisure. I then pack a few outfits for training and a few outfits for regular wear along with one dress to be saved for the after initiation party. I then grab my mp3 player and headphones. I pack a few toiletries and then pause to think of anything else I might need. Then I remember it. I walk over to my bedside table and open it up. I lean down and grab a small silver locket. It was my mother's. My father had given it to her on their wedding day and it was the last thing I had to remember her by. I put the locket in the side pocket of my bag before picking it up and walking out of the room.

My father stands at the door hand raised to knock. He slowly lowers his hand and looks at me. "Evee…" he says then trails off standing there awkwardly. I just shake my head and push past him, heading for the door. "I'm glad you choose Dauntless," he calls out quickly.

"Me too," I say before during without another word and walking out the door. I let it close behind me and sigh. At least that was over for now. Suddenly a hand grabbed my elbow and started dragging me through the halls. I was about to fight when I looked up to see Eric and my eyes widen. "What are you doing," I gasp as he continues to force me towards who knows where.

"We are going to have a little chat, you and I," he growls glancing down at me. His eyes are hard and cold. I gulp and allow him to keep dragging me along before we reach the chasm, its then that I begin to struggle. I don't know what he plans but I do not like the chasm. Not. One. Bit. I pull against him but his grip tightens on my arm. As the chasm gets closer I get more panicked and bring my foot down hard on his shin. He lets out a snarl of pain and his group loosens just enough for me to pull away. I make a break for it but he grabs me again, and tosses me over his back. I beat on his back with my fist until he sets me down. I panic as we are standing on the bridge of the chasm. He must have found out I'm divergent and is going to get rid of me. I try to bolt again but he quickly stops me.

"Calm down, its not like I'm going to throw you over," he growls

"Then why am I here," I ask trying not to have a panic attack. The chasm brings back bad memories.

"I am a Dauntless leader. I let you little back talk on the train go but I can not have you flipping me off in front of other Dauntless and getting away with it," he growls at me. I feel relief course through me. That's all this is about, thank god.

"I understand," I say with a nod.

"As punishment you will meet ever night at my office for the next two weeks to help me with paper work," he growls. "If after two weeks I feel you've learned your lesson you will be released, if not I'll find more for you to do."

I hold back a comment about him just being tired of paper work and using me to get out of it. I may have made a few rash decisions in the past couple days but I knew my limits. I just nod.

"Can I go now," I say, "The chasm isn't exactly my favorite place."

"Are you afraid," he sneers at me. I should hold my tongue. I really should but I feel anger boil up at his comment.

"No," I say standing up straight looking directly into his eyes. "My mother "bravely" jumped from here four years back." I think I see small pained look of remorse flicker across his gaze before I push past him and head towards the cafeteria. Good. I hope he feels like shit now, but knowing how heartless he is it probably won't even phase him.

I feel myself start to calm down by the time I make it to the cafeteria. I glance around trying to spot Nic and the other Dauntless born. I see the transfer table, Steve and the others have abandoned their faction clothes for something a bit more Dauntless. I finally spot Nic and make my way over to him and the others. I sit down and look at whats for dinner, hamburgers tonight. I put one on my plate and grab some of the broccoli as well and dig in.

"So where've you been slow poke," one of the girls named Liz asks. Her blonde hair is in a ponytail and her brown eyes shine with curiosity.

"Oh you know grabbing my stuff, saying goodbye to my dad," I say with a nonchalant shrug.

"Yeah my parents weren't home," another one of the Dauntless born says. His name is Jack. He's small with lean muscle and dark black hair. "Maybe I'll see them on visiting day," he jokes. We all laugh a bit. Visiting day was mainly for the transfers but it was the time that the Dauntless born were allowed to go home and sleep in there own beds again for one night. I didn't look forward to it. I'd probably just stay in the initiate's dorm.

Suddenly the cafeteria doors slam open and Eric makes a grand entrance. He makes his way over to the transfer table, no doubt to torture them a bit before heading back towards the leaders table. He glances our way for a moment, his eyes finding me and I quickly look away, focusing on my food intently. I'm so focused on my food that I don't notice Steve until he says my name.

"Evee, can we talk?" he says quietly and I stiffen.

"I don't think there's anything to talk about," I say choosing to remain focused on my food. Nic elbows me in the side and I glare at him. He obviously thinks I should face this head on. He's right but I don't want to do it right now.

"Evee that's not fair. We should talk about this," Steve says his voice picking up in volume a bit.

"Okay Steve," I say with a sigh and turn around. "Look, I know you transferred for me but I …"

"You what Evee," he snaps cutting me off, "Want to treat the last two years like they're nothing!" he snarls and by now the entire cafeteria's eyes are on us.

"Calm down Steve," I say turning fully to face him. "That's not what I'm saying. Of course they were something, but we are too different. We want different things. You didn't even want to be Dauntless!"

He's silent for a second, the whole cafeteria is holding its breath. "You should've gone to Erudite, you're just as cold and heartless as the rest of them. You would've fit in perfectly."

I'm on my feet in a split second and my fist collides with his nose. He raises his hand to his face, blood dripping through his fingers, as he stares at me in shock. I turn on my heel and quickly leave the cafeteria. I make it half way across the pit before I hear a voice calling out behind me. I turn to see Four running to catch up with me. I stop and let him reach my side before I begin to walk again. He's silent for a while as we make our way up the stairs of the pit.

"Bad break up I'm guessing," he finally says after a moment.

"Your powers of deduction are exceptional Watson," I say sarcastically. He gives me a strange look. I remember too late that no faction but Erudite would probably get such a reference. I had always loved books, though unlike the Erudite who only occasionally perused fiction, I devoured it.

"I get it, I mean I've never been there but…" he sighs and turns and pulls me into a hug. I'm a bit surprised but return the hug after a second. It feels nice though, comforting.

"Thanks," I say smiling at him after we separate. I then hear someone clear their throat and turn to see Eric standing a few feet down the hall.

"Can we help you, Eric," Four says glaring at him.

"Watch it Four, I still have the authority here," Eric says and Four's jaw clenches. "I'm here to deal with her," he says nodding towards me.

"Deal with me?" I say a bit confused. Eric nods and then looks at Four expectantly.

"I'll see you Evee," Four says with a sigh, "We can talk more later."

"See ya Four," I say and he turns and leaves, glaring one last time at Eric who just rolls his eyes.

"So…" I say standing awkwardly, shifting my weight a bit.

"Continue to the dorms, we can talk on the way," Eric says and begins to walk in the direction of the initiate courters. I fall into step beside him. "Max has said I'm to give you a verbal 'slap on the wrist'," he says as we walk.

"Oh" I say lamely, not sure how else to respond. We're already at the dorms and stop at the door. Eric leans his shoulder against the wall and looks down at me. He towers over me at my meager height of 5'3

"So though we are a violent faction, we don't condone unnecessary violence," he says with a sigh. "Oddly enough sometimes it's braver to walk away than to react, not something many in the faction understand but the leaders are pressing for."

"I understand," I say, "I won't let myself loose control like that again."

He nods and then we stand there in an awkward silence for a moment. "If that's all…" I say and turn to head into the dorms but am stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Wait," he says and then rubs the back of his neck, "I should apologize for earlier," he says. I stare at him, mouth agape. He notices my surprise and shrugs. "I didn't know about your mother."

"Thank you," I finally say, still shocked that he had apologized to me. He shrugs again before turning and heading back out towards the pit. I stand there for another moment, not quite yet coming to grips with that fact that Eric, cold heartless Dauntless leader Eric, had apologized to me for anything. I shake myself out of my daze and walk back into the dorm. I shower quickly and decide to turn in early. I've had a stressful day again and want to be prepared for training tomorrow.

**A/N: I cannot stress enough how much I love reviews! Let me know what you guys think. Again trying to keep Eric as much in character as possible. Also let me know what you guys think of Eric's POV from the last chapter. I plan to write it again the next chapter but want to make sure you guys like it. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Sleep

**Disclaimer: The Divergent trilogy and all unoriginal characters belong to Veronica Roth**

**Chapter 5: Sleep**

I sleep peacefully despite the stress of the day. If I dreamt I don't remember any of it. I wake up and stretch. I had brought the clock from my room with me and glanced over at it. Noticing it was 7:00. I was up earlier than I needed to be but oddly I felt extremely awake. I slide out of bed and grab a tank and some capri pants from my bag. I head into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth. After I'm ready I decide its time to head to breakfast. I make my way to the cafeteria but stop when Nic calls out for me to wait. I turn to see him jogging to catch up with me. His hair is slightly damp from a morning shower.

"Good morning," he says smiling at me

"I can not fathom how you are such a morning person," I say shaking my head. I'm up and awake but not very excited to be.

"Hey," he says with a lopsided grin, "It's first day of training and we get to finally put all of our skills to the test. We've been preparing for this."

I nod at him as we walk into the cafeteria. The first week of training is going to be fine. Being Dauntless born we've all prepared for this. I didn't know if I'd be the top of my class but it was definitely possible. We would be fighting at some point in the next couple days and though many of Dauntless born had been trained early on and were pretty good at fighting a lot of them let strategy fly out the window. I would try and keep a clear head when fighting and hopefully I would do pretty well.

Nic and I sit down and begin to fill our plates with food. There are pancakes and eggs this morning. I wrinkle my nose a bit. I like pancakes but for some reason don't feel like having that much sugar this morning. I spoon up some eggs and debate going to get a cup of coffee. I'm awake but could still use a kick-start to the day.

"Are you gonna eat those eggs or just stare at them?" Four questions, as he sits down across from me and plops two pancakes on his plate.

"Well honestly I was debating throwing them at you," I say. Four laughs and I smile before taking a bite of my eggs.

"You excited for training today?" Four asks after swallowing a bite of pancake.

"Oh for sure, I mean we are pretty prepared for the first stage," I say and Nic nods.

"Yeah we're prepared but doesn't mean we're all skilled enough," Nic says.

"Well thank you Negative Nancy," I snap at him and he raises an eyebrow at my irritability. "Sorry," I say with a sigh, "Haven't had coffee yet. I'm going to go get some now." I stand and walk towards the drink table. I get there and pour my self a coffee putting some cream and sugar in it. The aroma hits my nose and I breathe it in and let out a satisfied sigh.

I turn to head back to my seat and am surprised to see Eric sitting in the spot next to mine, conversing with Four. I walk back to the table and catch the last part of the conversation

"So I'll be observing with you in the afternoon and Lauren this morning," Eric finishes up as I sit down and resume eating my eggs. I take a sip of my coffee and hiss a bit as it burns my tongue.

"Damn that hurts," I growl and set the coffee down to let it cool.

"This should help," Eric says and offers me a package of sugar. I glance at it skeptically and then grab it from him. "Put it on your tongue, it's suppose to help with the pain."

I shrug and open the packet, dumping the contents on my tongue. I'm a bit surprised, as the pain seems to fade a bit. "Wow, thank you," I say flashing a grin towards Eric. I pick my coffee back up and blow on it profusely before I take another sip. I close my eyes and let out a satisfied sound as I can actually taste and enjoy the coffee this time. I hear Nic cough a bit and open my eyes to find him staring at me.

"What," I ask incredulously, turning to see both Four and Eric looking at me with unreadable expressions.

"I mean damn Evee, you should at least take that coffee out to dinner first," Nic says grinning at me and I blush.

"Oh grow up Nic, I'm sorry that's the first time you've heard a woman make that noise," I say sticking my tongue out at him. Four tries to cover his laugh with a cough and Eric chokes on his water. Nic blushes a bit.

"Oh you're going to pay for that one," Nic says with an evil grin.

"I'd like to see you try something," I say to him playfully.

"Oh you see I know your weak spots," Nic says, his smile growing as he brings his hands up and pretends to reach for my stomach. I bat his hands away.

"You wouldn't dare," I say, his look says try me.

"What's her weak spot?" Eric asks a confused look on his face.

"Well you see her stomach is very sensitive and…" I grab his hand and yank him up, successfully cutting him off.

"Well we don't want to be late for training, see you guys later," I say quickly before dragging a laughing Nic away and leaving behind a very confused Four and Eric.

"I don't need people knowing I'm ticklish," I say with a laugh, "Especially not Eric, he'll probably think up a tickle torture and start using it as punishment." Nic laughs at that.

We are almost to the doors of the cafeteria when they open and a group of transfers walk in. I stiffen when I see Steve among them. His nose is bruised and bandaged and he looks dead tired. I feel a slight pull in the pit of my stomach. I regret hurting him and I can still feel a inkling of the feelings I use to have for him. His eyes meet mine for a moment and he looks away quickly heading to sit down with the other transfers.

"You all right Evee," Nic asks once we're out of the cafeteria.

"Of course," I say with a smile, "Why wouldn't I be?" He gives me a look but makes no further comment.

We make it to the training room with fifteen minutes to spare. We take a seat against one of the walls and relax in a comfortable silence as the rest of initiates begin to show up. Once the clock strikes 8:00 Lauren calls us to gather in front of her.

"Alright we will be beginning this morning by learning how to shoot a gun," she says and is met by a few snickers. Most of us have been using guns since we were 10. "Now this is the safety," she says and I tune her out, I know my way around a gun as do most of the other Dauntless born. I glance back as I hear the door open and see Eric make his way into the room. Lauren pauses to nod at him before continuing her lecture. Eric leans against the wall to watch.

"Now then you may all grab a gun from this table and begi…" she stops as the door opens and one of the Dauntless born, Brad I think his name is, saunters into the room and walks to stand with the rest of us. "Mr. Albertson, how nice of you to join us. It really is a shame you won't be staying," Lauren growls. A murmur goes through the group as we all stare in shock.

"Come on Lauren, I'm only ten minutes late," Brad says with a shrug.

"The rules are clear, you're late you're out," Lauren says.

"You can't kick me out," Brad growls back at her.

"You're right," Eric says. He hasn't moved from his position. The room is silent as he pushes off the wall and walks to Brad. "Only a Dauntless leader can make that call in the end." Brad's smirk slowly disappears from his face as he remembers just who Eric is. Eric smiles as he sees Brad's realization.

"I suggest you go, pack up, and leave before you make this any worse for yourself," Eric says menacingly. Brad gulps, nods, and then rushing from the room. "As you were saying Lauren," Eric says after Brad has left.

Lauren clears her throat before continuing, "You may all begin shooting at the targets."

We all rush to the table and grab a gun. I head to my target with a chill racing down my spine. Day one and someone is already out. Well at least now I know that they're serious about being late to training. I also realized that Eric had a lot of power that he wasn't scared to use. I definitely needed to be a bit more careful. I'd already done some damage on my behavior around him. I was going to try and not get anymore on his bad side.

I began to shoot. I'd had a lot of practice over the years. My first shot landed in the second circle from the center. I pursed my lips. I could do better than that. I shot again, twice and both landed very near each other in the center circle. I smiled satisfied with myself. I then decided to have some fun. I aimed for the targets head and released four shots. They all landed in relatively the same area. I reloaded and then aimed for the heart releasing the full clip. Satisfied with my aim I glanced over at the other initiates to see how they were doing. Many of them were hitting within the second circle and all of them were hitting the target.

Eric paces back and forth, stopping occasionally to watch as people shoot. He doesn't comment or make corrections, he just observes. I turn back to my target, my gun reloaded and decided to aim for the center of the target. I shoot four shots and look at my work. All placed relatively close and in the center circle. I'm satisfied with myself.

"Your stance is off yet you continue to make your shots with accuracy," Eric says from behind me. I turn to see him with a thoughtful expression on his face. He then walks toward me. "Try standing more like this," he says. His hands reach down and lift my arms up, bending them slightly. He then gently pushes my hips into a different position before kicking my feet apart a bit more, widening my stance. "Try for the left shoulder. See how close you can place them."

I nod, feeling a blush creep up my neck from his touch. I shake my head quickly and slow my breathing as I turn my attention towards the target. I aim and shoot twice in succession. When I lower the gun my breath hitches in my throat. My shots are so close together you almost can't tell there are two different entry points.

"Now that's accurate," Eric says, still standing close behind me. I can feel the heat from his chest.

"Thank you," I say honestly. His small corrections were extremely helpful. He nods before turning and walking away. I have a small feeling of loss from his warmth leaving but shake my head quickly and focus back on my target.

The morning went by at a decent pace but by the end of it my arms felt like jelly. Us dauntless born definitely had a leg up on the transfers but we hadn't shot multiple weapons for four hrs straight. I'm sure we would all recover faster than the transfers though.

Nic and I walk to lunch together. Joking around about nonsensical things. Having a normal conversation. We walk into the cafeteria and my mouth instantly begins to water as the smell of grilled fish hits my nose. I turn to Nic my eyes beaming.

"It must be Christmas!" I screech and all but sprint to our usual table. We never got fish. There were lots of meats served here in Dauntless but rarely fish. It was my favorite though.

I greedily grab two filets. I didn't scarf them down but savored eat bite. I was three bites in when Nic finally made it too the table. He just shook his head at me as he began to fill his plate. Lunch passed by quickly. I made awkward eye contact with Steve at one point but besides that the meal was good and delicious.

We make our way back to the training room after lunch. The afternoon segment consists of learning a few new fighting techniques. As Dauntless born many of us already had experience with fighting but many were sloppy. Most didn't take Lauren's teaching seriously either. Nic and I both tried to improve on our techniques. By the time Lauren released us I was dead tired and soaked in sweat. I needed a shower ASAP.

Most people headed off to dinner after we were released but I was going straight for the shower. I strip upon entering the dorm, since everyone was at dinner and I had the place to myself. After the water warmed I hop in and let the hot water soothe my aching muscles. After I feel sufficiently washed and relaxed I finally get out, dry off and put my clothes back on. I wasn't super hungry but I should probably eat something.

I head to the cafeteria. I'm halfway there when I see Steve. To my dismay he sees me to and begins to head towards me. I almost turn and run but decide that that wouldn't be Dauntless. I let out a sigh and stop, crossing my arms over my chest as I wait for him to get to me.

"Hey Evee," he says lamely.

"Yes?" I say with a raised eyebrow.

"I just want to apologize," he says with a sigh.

"What?" I say, I expected something totally different from this conversation.

"Yeah, I shouldn't have called you cold, I was out of line," he says.

"Well thank you," I say to him not sure what else there is to say.

"Evee, I still think we could work us out," he says, his eyes are a bit watery and full of emotion.

"Steve…" I begin but am cut off as his lips press to mine. For a moment I am too stunned to do anything, my body reacting to the familiarity and kissing him back. Then my mind catches up and I bring my hands to push him away. I push at his chest but he resists, I'm about to shove harder when I hear a loud cough.

We separate to see Eric standing about two feet away. The look in his eyes is one I've never seen before. He's gray eyes are stormy, his face is twisted in an ugly expression. He looks pissed, more than pissed.

"Miss Lively you are suppose to be serving out your punishment, not fumbling around in the hallways like an animal in heat," he said in a low calm voice that contradicted all of his body language. He looked coiled up and ready to strike. He then turned on his heal and I knew without him saying I was to follow him.

I didn't spare Steve a glance as I ran to catch up with Eric. His pace was fast. I nearly had to jog to keep up with him. I knew better than to ask him to slow down, or to say anything at all. We race through the halls till we arrive at his office. He throws the door open and stands to the side, allowing me to enter first. He slams the door behind him causing me to wince.

His office was simple. A large dark wooden desk in the center and a black leather couch pushed up against the wall by the door. There were filing cabinets and bookcases placed along all four walls including behind the desk. I take everything in quickly before he grabs my elbow and forcefully sits me down in the chair in front of the desk. It isn't long before he slams a stack of papers down in front of me.

"You are to sort those alphabetically and then file them into that cabinet" he says pointing to a black filing cabinet behind his desk. He says nothing else and sits down behind his desk and began doing paper work of his own. I say nothing and get to work.

It takes a few hours for me to fully sort the stack. I didn't really know what I was sorting either. All I knew was that it had something to do with Dauntless members as I recognized a name here and there. Possibly medical records though I wasn't sure why Eric would need those.

I look up to the cabinet I was suppose to put them in. It was directly behind Eric but I should be able get to it. I pick up a small portion of the stack and make my way to the cabinet. I sort the first bit then go back for more and do the same. I go back for the final stack. I pick it up and begin to file the last bit. I try to close the cabinet but meet resistance. I furrow my brow a bit. Maybe it was jammed. I hit it with my shoulder and still nothing. I push, leaning my full body into it and make a grunting noise.

"I would appreciate you being gentler with my cabinet than you are with your fuck buddy," Eric says and I freeze, "It doesn't like it rough."

I spin around and glare at him. "You can make me do all the paperwork you want but I won't stand for you being a pig," I growl before turning around and kicking the cabinet with all I had. The drawer shut with a bang. "If that's all for tonight," I clip and walk to the front of the desk towards the door. I open the door partially when a palm slams against it, closing it loudly.

"If I wanted to be a pig I could do a lot worse," he hisses, his breath tickling my ear. Goose bumps rise up the back of my neck as I feel the heat of him from where his chest presses into my back. His hands on either side of me trap me against the door. "Turn around," he says in a low voice.

I swallow and turn around slowly, cautiously looking up into his gaze. His eyes are stormy again but in a different way than when he saw Steve and I. His face is inches from mine, his breath ghosting across my face. My eyes flicker to his lips for a split second and I pray he didn't notice. I as meet his gaze I can tell he had.

"Why would you punch someone, then be sucking on their tongue not a day later," he growls at me.

"Why do you care?" I ask feeling a bit of anger bubble up along with embarrassment.

"I don't," he murmurs. His eyes shift to my lips and I subconsciously dart my tongue out to lick them. Something in his gaze flashes and he begins to lean in towards me.

A sharp knock on the door startles us both. "Eric," Four's voice calls out, "I have the notes for today on the transfers."

Eric slowly moves away from me and opens the door. "Thank you," he says quickly. Four sees me and looks confused. "Punishment for the cafeteria, she'll be leaving in a minute. We will discuss these tomorrow," he says effectively dismissing Four. Four hesitates a moment before nodding and walking away. "You're free to go."

I stand frozen for a moment then dart towards the door. Suddenly my shoulders are grabbed, spinning me around. Eric's lips crash to mine, his hand snaking around my waist. The kiss is fast and rough, possessive. I feel myself melt into it, loose myself to the feeling. It's over too fast.

"You'll come back after dinner tomorrow, I have more work for you," Eric says before ushering me out of the door and shutting it behind me.

I stand, dumbfounded, outside his office. I raise a hand to my lips tentatively, they're swollen. I begin to walk back to the dorm the only thought in my mind; What the hell was that?

**A/N: Sorry it took so long! I've been weighed down with school for the past week and a half. Its only two more weeks then things will be more relaxed and I'll have more time. Hope you guys like this chapter though! Song: Sleep by Poets of the Fall**


	6. Chapter 6:When It's Cold I'd Like to Die

**Disclaimer: The Divergent trilogy and all unoriginal characters belong to Veronica Roth**

** A/N: I am so sorry this took so long! I got bogged down with finals and end of school move out plus a job hunt. Again sorry it took so long but I will be able to update much more often now that its summer! Hope you guys like this chapter :)**

**Chapter 6: When It's Cold I'd Like to Die**

I awake the next morning and stretch. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and groan. I'm still extremely tired. My sleep had been restless, dreams bouncing between Steve, Eric, and my mother. I didn't want to think about my mother, not today, not yet. I was still so confused, both by Steve and by Eric. I knew I had no more feelings for Steve, at least romantic but I believed that I still cared about him. My emotions were so mixed. Eric on the other hand was a totally different matter.

Kissing Eric had been a surreal experience. I hadn't expected him to kiss me. I was certain that he was annoyed by me; I would never have expected him to have any sort of feelings for me, or maybe not feelings but attraction towards me. When he had kissed me I felt a heat enter the pit of my stomach, sending chills up my back. It had been possessive, completing dominating. It was so much more intense than anything I had experienced with Steve. Steve had been sweet but I'm ashamed to say that I enjoyed that brief moment with Eric more than any of my physical encounters with Steve.

I run my hand over my face and sigh. I get out of the bed and quickly get dressed, making my way to breakfast. I sit by Nic and grab a bagel from the center of the table. I slather on some strawberry cream cheese and slowly bring the bagel up to my mouth. I'm exhausted and every bite is tiring. Nic studies me critically before standing up and walking off without a word. I watch him head off in confusion but shrug and return to my bagel. Nic returns a few minutes later and sets a cup of coffee down in front of me.

"You look like you need this," he says with a smile.

"Rough night?" another Dauntless born, Lance asks.

"Just didn't sleep well," I say with a shrug.

"I can understand that," Lance says as he raises his coffee cup up in cheers. I laugh and clink my glass to his before brining the cup to my mouth and blowing before taking a sip.

"Today's the first round of fights," a girl named Abby says after a moment.

"I wonder how they're gonna pair us up," one of the boys Zach said. I could see the bit of concern on his face. Zach was on the smaller side. I can understand why he'd be worried about the fights.

Rachel a girl with curly brown hair nodded in agreement. "Yeah now that Brad's gone there's an uneven number of people, someone's gonna have to sit out."

"Yeah poor Brad, I know he was late but did Eric have to be such a douche about it," Danny, a boy with light blue eyes spoke up.

"Douche is a bit of an understatement, more like psycho," the largest of the group, Cooper said with a snort.

I gritted my teeth, sure Eric had been harsh but rules were rules, and calling him a psycho was a bit much. I pushed myself up from the table angrily drawing the attention of my fellow initiates.

"Eveline are you okay," the tallest of us girls, Libby said, looking at me in confusion.

"Just lost my appetite," I say quickly before walking off.

I walked towards the training room, confused by my own behavior. Insulting Eric shouldn't make me this angry. He was a douche that much I knew. Even calling him a psycho should be getting this much of a reaction from me. I knew I didn't have feelings for Eric, he scared the hell out of me. I did respect him though. He may be an asshole but there was no doubt that he was a good leader and a man to be respected no matter how much you hated him.

I made it to the training room just in time to see Lauren hanging up the board for today's fights. I scanned the list and felt a small amount of joy when I saw whom I was against. I smiled, it would be a hard fight but I would happy to hit this guy after the conversation at breakfast. This went as follows:

Abby v. Rachel

Libby v. Lance

Evee v. Cooper

Nic v. Danny

Looked like Zach would be the first to sit out. I wish he hadn't stayed. It was obvious that the kid was made for Erudite. I don't know what had prompted him to stay. He was small with no muscle and had been the smartest kid out of all the Dauntless born in our class. He was going to be destroyed in the fights.

I sit down and wait for the rest of the people to get to the training room. Nic is the first to arrive and sits beside me. I glance over at him to see him looking at me expectantly.

"Come one Evee, you gotta tell me what that was all about," he finally says when I refuse to speak.

"In all honesty I don't know what that was all about," I say shaking my head. Nic seems to accept my answer and we sit and wait for the rest of the group.

It doesn't take long and we all stand in a circle around the fighting mat waiting for Lauren to announce the first fight. She walked to the middle of the map and glanced at us all.

"Today is the first day of fights. You have four fights total," she begins. "You're rank for stage one from this moment on will be determined by how you fair in your fights. Though wining and loosing has much to do with rank you will also be observed by how you strategize. You fight till you can no longer continue or one of you concedes." Her eyes scan the lot of us before finally she says, "Abby, Rachel, you're up."

With that she steps off the mat and allows the two girls to get up there. At first the two seem to hesitant to punch each other, just circling around, before a voice from the back of the crowd calls out, "Stop pussy footing around and fight."

I glance behind me to see Eric standing in his normal position, arms crossed over his chest, eyes studying the two on the mat. I turn back when I hear a loud thump to see Rachel on top of Abby, pinning her down. Abby tries to bump her hips up and throw Rachel off but Rachel is bigger and stays on punching Abby in the face. Abby puts her arms up to defend her face and Rachel delivers a blow to Abby's temple. Abby goes limp, not knocked out but too stunned to continue.

"Winner Rachel," Lauren says and circles her name on the board. Abby shakes her head as she slowly returns to her senses and Rachel helps her up apologizing as they walk of the mat. "Next Libby and Lance," Lauren says and the two walk to the mat and begin fighting on Lauren's command. Libby is fast with range because of her height but Lance has more strength.

"Pitiful," Eric says from beside me, drawing my gaze away from the fight. I turn to look at him, his attention fixed on the fight before he glances at me.

"They're each playing to their strengths well I think," I say and turn back to see Libby dodge a punch and go for Lances ribs. She gets to close though and doesn't back out fast enough getting caught by Lance. The fight will be over soon.

"Do the same, you're faster, but instead don't get caught " Eric says squeezing my shoulder before walking to the board and circling Lances name as Lauren drags an unconscious Libby off of the mat and hands her to Rachel and Abby to take to the ER.

"Next Cooper and Evee," Lauren says. I swallow and make my way to the mat.

I stand ready and size Cooper up. He's larger than me and has more muscle. I'm lighter and faster. I'm going to have to hit him in weak spots quickly and evade his attacks for the most part if I want to win. He smirks, as he looks me up and down, obviously assuming an easy win. Good, let him underestimate me.

"Start." Lauren calls out and I don't waste a second, striking first. I rush in and jab my hand into Coopers throat. As he chokes I deliver a swift punch to his sternum, knocking the wind out of him. He wheezes and swings out to try and knock me in the head. I duck and aim a punch at his side under his ribs. I get my punch in and swiftly move back to evade as he tries to grab me. He punches out again towards my head and as I dive again for his other side I see him smile and know I'm in trouble. He leans his shoulder down and rams it into my nose, knocking me off balance. I feel blood running from my nose as he then tackles me to ground, pinning me down. I struggle underneath him but he traps my legs. He sends punch after punch to my ribs and stomach. Blood runs down my face from where his shoulder hit my nose, which was probably broken. Each punch hurts more than the last. He pauses in the midst of the beating and leans down and whispers in my ear "Should have listened better to the psycho" I glare feeling rage bubble up inside me and struggle against him. He must have heard Eric speaking to me before the fight. I needed to think, I was trapped and pinned, I wasn't strong enough to get out of his grip. What other strength did I have? Suddenly it hit me.

"Maybe you're right," I purred into his ear and licked up the side of his neck, trying not to gag as I did so. I felt him freeze, his grip loosening. I ripped my hands free and sent a powerful punch to the side of his head. Cooper yelped and fell off of me. Before he could recover I jumped up and kicked him a few times in the ribs to keep him down, then jumped on top of him and began to beat his face in, loosing track of how many punches I threw. This cocky asshole deserved a beating.

"Enough!" Eric's voice boomed, I stopped mid punch and shook myself out of the haze of rage. I look down in horror at the bloodied face beneath me. I scramble backwards off of him. I could've stopped, I should've stopped. I didn't loose control, I wanted to keep hitting him and that scared me. I had made the decision to continue to hit him. I looked up to see Lance dragging a semi-conscious Cooper off the mat. The blood is still running down my face from my nose as I walk off the mat.

"Come over here," Eric growls as he grabs my elbow and drags me towards chairs against the wall of the room. "Lauren get the next two up there." Lauren nods and turns back to the initiates as Eric throws me into a seat and opens up a first aide kit.

"I'm sorry, I know that was overboard," I say as he begins to wipe the blood from my face. His hands are surprisingly gentle. He's silent and finishes wiping me up before grabbing my chin and turning my head side to side.

"It's broken but easily resettable," he says and lifts his hand to the bridge of my nose. "On the count of three." I give a small nod and suddenly his hand jerks before he even begins counting.

"Three," he says with a smirk. I gasp as the pain sears through me and tears well in my eyes.

"Thank you," I say as I wipe my eyes.

"You need to be more controlled," he says not looking up as he puts away the supplies. I can see his hands clenched tight when he closes the first aid box and notice his jaw is extremely tense. He's pissed and I can't tell exactly why.

"It wasn't about control," I say softly. He pauses and looks up at me.

"He made me angry and I took getting back at him too far," I say and shake my head looking down.

"He deserved it?" Eric said and I looked up at him and shook my head.

"Yes but not as far as I took it," I say.

"Then next time only take it as far as he deserves," Eric says before standing up and walking away. I sit for a moment a bit stunned before I glance back at the fight to see Danny has won but just barely. Nic has already been sent to the ER and Lauren is patching up Danny.

I let out a sigh and decide its time to head to lunch. I eat quickly and decide to go back to the dorm to relax before we have to meet back up for training. When I get back to the training room those of us who haven't been sent to the ER are told to practice our accuracy with pistols. We do it until dinnertime.

I go to dinner and sit with the other Dauntless born. Everyone besides Libby is there. We all eat in silence, no one wanting to discuss having had to beat each other up today. Cooper looks awful and I feel the pull of guilt in my stomach. I did that to him. And for what? Because he called Eric a psycho? It didn't make sense to me. I shouldn't care that much.

After dinner I make my way to Eric's office. I knock on the door and wait. "Come in," he says gruffly.

I walk in and shut the door behind me. Eric simply points to a stack of papers on the edge of his desk and I get to it sitting on the couch by the door. There's more to file than there was the other day. I work for about an hour before Eric suddenly stands up from his desk and walks over to the couch and sits down, picking up a book from the coffee table and flipping it open. I stare at him for a moment before he glances at me and raises an eyebrow questioningly. I return my attention to the papers in front of me. At least twenty minutes pass before I'm done and get up to put the files in the cabinet. I turn back around to see Eric staring at me.

"I'm curious, what did Mr. Baldwin do to deserve his beating today," Eric says and I flinch.

"It was just something he said at breakfast," I say, trying to avoid the question. _And in the fight, _I think to myself. "May I go now?" I ask and he nods. I open the door and begin to walk out.

"Wait, you may go," Eric says, standing and crossing his arms over his chest and I can't help but notice the way his muscle ripple under his shirt. "But first give me a straight answer."

I pause for a second and consider my choices. "He called you a psycho," I say and see confusion pass across Eric's face. "Good night," I say quickly and shut the door behind me. I decide to make my way to the ER and see how Nic is doing.

I doesn't take me long. I ask the nurse at the front which room he's in and she points down the hall. "Last room on the right, Dear," I nod and thank her before heading down that way.

When I get to Nic's room he's asleep. I cringe at the damage. He face resembles Cooper's, black and blue. His arm has been put in a sling and a bandage wrapped around his head. I walk over and take a seat in the chair by his bed, being careful to be quiet and not wake him. I sit there for about ten minutes before he begins to stir.

"Hey," he says with a weak smile, his voice cracking slightly. "You mind handing me that glass of water there."

"Of course," I say and grab the glass letting him drink his fill before placing it back on the table.

"Well I lost," he says with a sigh.

"Hey," I say punching his arm gently, "You held your own against Danny, he's probably the most skilled fighter out of the lot of us."

"Yeah I guess so," he says and then looks at me seriously. "What was that today Evee? I know Cooper can be a jerk but I've never seen that look on your face as you beat him to a pulp."

I look down ashamed. "I don't know. He just made me mad today. It wasn't like I became unaware of what I was doing. I wanted to hit him that much. It scared me."

Nic's brow furrow's then suddenly shoot up as he comes to some realization. "Evee it's five years," he says softly. I look down. I had ignored it all day. "Maybe that's the reason you overreacted?"

"Maybe," I mumble. I'd been trying not to think about it. Today was five years since my mother had jumped. I didn't want to think about it. I hadn't all day. I'd just pushed it down. I would have my moment later tonight once everyone was asleep.

"Well," Nic says trying to break the silence. "I think it's about time for me to be discharged. I just have a concussion and a shoulder pulled out of the socket. No fighting for a bit for me. Wanna ask the nurse if I'm free to go?"

"Sure thing," I say, smiling as I walk to the door and peer out of the room trying to find a nurse. I'm surprised to see Eric speaking to one about ten feet down the hall.

"I'm here to give the all clear for discharging any initiates that are able to return to their dorms," he says and the nurse looks through the charts on her clipboard.

"Well all of them are free to go but there are conditions on when some of them may fight again," she says and hands Eric a few papers. "I'll let the other nurses know." Eric nods and then his eyes shift my direction. I quickly bounce back into the room, hoping he hadn't seen me. I was not ready for the questions he probably had about our last conversation.

Nic is looking at me confused when I finally turn back around. "Well you're free to go," I say with a smile.

"Sounds good, you go on ahead Evee, just know if you're not back by 1:00 I'll come looking for you," he says, a soft look of understanding in his eyes. I nod before heading back to the dorm.

When I get back some of the initiates are already passed out in bed. I grab my toiletries and shower quickly. I walk back into the room. Making sure no one is awake or watching. I grab a bottle from my bag and quickly make my way towards the chasm.

I sit, my legs hanging off the edge as I bring the bottle of vodka up to my lips. I cringe a bit at the burn of the alcohol. I'm use to it though. I've been sneaking out here for the past four years, making it a tradition. A toast to my mom and my one moment a year to grieve and let it all out so I could function every other day of the year. I've been here for about an hour and was definitely feeling the buzz of the alcohol.

"I don't understand," I whisper to myself. "You were so happy, we all were. We had a good life. Why would you leave us? Why would you leave me?"

For the first year I had been angry. I had been so mad that she had left me, two weeks before my birthday. That she had left me with my dad who became a wreck. At the age of 11 that was a lot to deal with, I'd had to grow up fast. After the first year I had just been sad and I missed her. It was that year that I had decided to begin coming to the chasm. Alcohol hadn't become part of the tradition until just last year.

"I miss you mom," I say softly, a tear falling down my face as I take another swig.

"Alcohol and the chasm don't mix well, initiate," he says.

I close my eyes and exhale slowly. Of course he'd show up. It was just my luck. My quiet time of mourning and he was going to interrupt it.

"It's okay I was just leaving," I say standing up angrily. I wobble a bit but am steady enough to walk past him. His hand shoots out to grab my arm and stop me, turning me back around to face him.

"Didn't say you have to leave," he says and my tearful eyes meet his. He's eyes are unreadable, a mixture of emotions that I can't identify. Slowly he grabs the bottle from my hand and lifts it up, taking a huge gulp. He then walks back over to the bridge and sits down. I pause for a moment before going back to sit by him.

"It's five years today," I say after a bit. He doesn't say anything just hands the bottle back to me. I take another swig. I can definitely feel the alcohol now. My gaze is fuzzy and my head heavy.

"What was she like," Eric asks simply. I'm floored by his questioned. I decide not to over analyze his intentions though.

"She was great. She was strong and sweet all at the same time. She taught me respect, loyalty. She taught me how to stand up for myself and to stand up for those who couldn't. She loved unconditionally, loyal to a fault. She taught me so much," I say trailing off a bit then laugh, "She was a bit bullheaded though."

"Sounds a lot like you," Eric says with a chuckle and I laugh with him.

"I really miss her," I say with a sigh and slump against Eric, welcoming his warmth against cold air of the chasm. I lean my head against his shoulder, I feel him stiffen slightly. The alcohol must be clouding my judgment. I would never have cozied up to Eric like this on any other occasion.

"Tell my why you wailed on Connor," Eric says after a moment.

"I already told you," I mumble drunkenly.

"That's not enough," he says

"You're an ass but not a psycho, there's more to you than that. He shouldn't have said it," I say and he remains quiet. "She shouldn't have left." I mummer.

I feel myself start to drift off, the alcohol making me sleepy. As I slip off into darkness I'm vaguely aware of strong hands picking me up and a voice whispering, "She didn't want to."


End file.
